Star Wars: the argument continues

Spoiler Alert, but it’s worth it!

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     Star Wars: The Last Jedi was a box office hit and pulled in almost $220 million when it opened. It received great reviews from the critics and a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Although the film received positive reviews from critics, many fans had a very different opinion, including myself.

     First and foremost, the relationship between the characters was too friendly unlike the character conflicts in movies past. For example, the main antagonist of the film, Kylo Ren, and the main protagonist of the film, Rey, have more positive interaction that negative. Instead of hating each other, their fights almost seem childish, like a quarrel between siblings. Why can’t a Disney movie have enemies that actually act like enemies, and stay true to the history of the Star Wars films?

     A pressing question that most fans had leading up to the film was if there would be any explanation of who Rey’s parents were. There was an explanation by Snoke late in the film, but a very unbelievable and bogus explanation at that. What kind of world would we live in if a main Star Wars protagonist had parents with no meaning? Is this Disney’s classic “anyone can be special no matter their background” plot? If so, it seems that Rey’s past will never be explained which, in my opinion, will only add to her illegitimacy as a character.

     While I could go on, I’ll stop at this final issue. Why was Princess Leia  (played by the late Carrie Fisher) not only just killed off, but also turned into a Mary Poppins-esque master of the force. Out of nowhere, Leia suddenly has mastered the force and survives an explosion in space and nonchalantly flies back into her ship virtually unharmed. Where has this been throughout Leia’s timeline in the films? Why has she hidden her powers for so long? How will they write in Leia’s character in the new films without an actress to play her?

     Star Wars is a nationally acclaimed series which will always have a special place in my heart; however, The Last Jedi will not have a place there. The originals like The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi were much better productions of the amazing series. Disney has ruined the Star Wars series and will forever doom future Star Wars movies.

     Of all movie franchises, not many have the same universal recognition that Star Wars has. The series has recently been revived after a purchase of LucasArts by Disney. They brought back Star Wars with the loved and incredibly successful Star Wars: The Force Awakens. With one main series Star Wars under their belt, Disney released Star Wars: The Last Jedi to much discourse.

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    I walked out of the film very conflicted. There were things I enjoyed and hated about The Last Jedi. The thing about The Last Jedi is that is brings many new aspects to a Star Wars movie that was the driving force (pun intended) to my indecisiveness towards the film. One of those aspects include the characterization of the cast. There’s a lighter tone to the interaction between characters and not only that, but the key relationships that were built between characters in The Force Awakens are practically useless, as all the connected characters are separated throughout majority of my film. That being said, I did like the new relationships that were created between newly introduced characters.

    Another problem I had with the film was the lacking locals that it contains. The majority of the movie is spent in space with the First Order slowly chasing after the Rebel Fleet. Other sceneries include a lush island, inside your generic intergalactic spacecraft, a cantina inhabited by those who make their money by selling military weapons, and finally, probably my favorite part of the movie, a salt planet known as Crait that is reminiscent of Hoth from The Empire Strikes Back.

   Star Wars: The Last Jedi plays with me in that it can be a very fun movie to watch with the fast paced X-Wing battle at the beginning of the film to the crazy on land fights between Captain Phasma and Finn, as well as the expected duel between Kylo Ren and Rey. Oh, and I can’t forget to mention the amazing high stakes battle on Crait at the end of The Last Jedi. When the action isn’t in high gear, the film can be kind of boring at times while listening into universal politics.

   At the end of the day, Star Wars: The Last Jedi tries something new and you’ve gotta commend it for that. It diverges from what you are to expect from a Star Wars movie and tries to breathe some new life into this franchise for a modern audience. Now, whether these changes will appeal to you or not is up to you and your tastes. The Last Jedi doesn’t beat the charm of the original trilogy and the blast of The Force Awakens, but it stands out from the rest, and you can’t really do worse than the prequels…can you?

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     There are many people who have extremely different opinions on the newest Star Wars film titled The Last Jedi. There are people who have hated it, there are people who didn’t really have an opinion, and there are people, like me, who actually enjoyed the movie.

    One thing I personally enjoyed and appreciated was that the new characters and the old characters were brought together in the film. An example would be Rey and Luke Skywalker’s relationship. Though they started with a rocky relationship at the beginning, it was nice to see them become closer and to understand each other’s pasts better throughout the movie.

    Another one of the main reasons I enjoyed the newest Star Wars movie was Kylo Ren’s internal conflict. It feels like viewers connect to his character more easily and come to like him more than any other Star Wars villain because they actually showed his face. In many of the other Star Wars movies, the villains keep their faces covered and it made it hard to connect a face with the character. Kylo Ren’s character went through a lot of ups and downs throughout the whole movie and I would find myself hoping for him to come to the light side. The not knowing is what kept me guessing during the entire movie as to what he was going to do.

    Since Disney has taken over Star Wars, the set up and the flow of the movie has obviously changed. Is it different from the original movies? Yes. Is it still an enjoyable to watch? In my opinion as someone who has seen all of the Star Wars movies, yes it was enjoyable.